Chaos ruled the closing moments between Laces Basketball Club and Mist Basketball Club. With the target score set at 82, both sides came agonizingly close as hurried layups, rushed three pointers, and desperate passes filled the final sequence. Amid the scramble, the decisive moment fell to Breanna Stewart. Calm under pressure, she stepped to the line and delivered the winning free throw, sealing an 83-81 victory and Mist Basketball Club’s second straight win.

But it came with some controversy.

Now, typically, basketball games rarely end that way. But with Unrivaled’s format hinging on reaching a target score, an unconventional ending is always more likely. Still, this one felt especially messy, frantic, tense, and a bit controversial.

The issue stemmed from the foul call on Alyssa Thomas that sent Stewart to the line. Under standard basketball rules, a free throw is awarded on a layup attempt only if the foul occurs after the shooting motion has begun, meaning once the player has gathered the ball and started the upward motion. If the contact happens earlier, while the player is still dribbling or in the process of gathering the ball, no free throws are supposed to be awarded.

That distinction is exactly why the call sparked debate. Many felt the contact occurred before the shooting motion, which would have made the free throw and the game-ending finish questionable. The officials, however, ruled otherwise, and the decision stood. When asked about it afterward, the Mist coach didn’t shy away from addressing the moment in the postgame press conference…

“It’s just part of the game. You don’t necessarily want to see a game end like that with any sort of controversy or challenging but I think the big thing is to stay composed, keep our team together,” coach Zach O’Brien shared his perspective on the game.

“There are always going to be outside factors involved, so you just got to block those out and control what you can, and I think we just have to be quicker to adapt to the refs, and they are not going to change, so you have to,” the coach further added.

Everything feels acceptable when the whistle works in your favor. The real test comes when it does not. That is the question many around the league are now asking. The contact that sparked the controversy looked minimal on first viewing, yet it ignited a fierce debate. What followed was less about the call itself and more about how teams and players respond when margins are that thin.

But there is also truth behind Breanna Stewart’s coach’s outlook on the matter. As a coach, you can’t control the external factors. Your jurisdiction pretty much ends at the glass, and that’s all there is to it. So you have to get your reads quick and fast.

But like they say, all’s fair in love and war, so Stewart should be happy with the eventual outcomes. Well, that’s all for Breanna Stewart’s battle on the court; outside of it, she is also engrossed in another bigger showdown regarding the CBA.

Stewart’s Stern Warning To Her WNBA Colleagues

Breanna Stewart has stepped into a rare leadership role at a tense moment for the WNBA. With negotiations between the WNBA players Association and the league ongoing, Stewart has urged fellow players to stay aligned as talks intensify. Discussions have even included a moratorium on free agency and league business, creating urgency as the scheduled start date draws closer.

After reports of such a proposal came to light, Stewart was quick to warn her WNBA peers. According to Kendra Andrews, Stewart said that the players have an understanding that any offers being sent without a new CBA are not to be acknowledged.

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Breanna Stewart, along with her fellow Unrivaled co-founder Napheesa Collier, has always been vocal about the discrimination in pay rasing their voices for a better CBA deal, but has also been subjected to criticism as they have stakes in both the WNBPA and Unrivaled league, leading to a conflict of interest.

Despite going past the deadline (9th January), the WNBPA has also found itself unable to find a closure on the long-awaited agreement with the league, and they have shared their disappointment about the whole situation through an official statement.

“Despite demonstrating our willingness to compromise to get a deal done, the WNBA and its teams have failed to meet us at the table with the same spirit and seriousness. Instead, they have remained committed to undervaluing player contributions, dismissing player concerns, and running out the clock.”

Now, as things seem to be on the brink of closing in on an eventual lockout more than ever, it seems the WNBA this season will be delayed even further. As no party is willing to budge an inch from their demands, will there be a possibility in the near future that events like Unrivaled and Project B will be the future for women’s basketball? We don’t have an answer yet, but we will surely in the coming months.